Pellets Char Hickory vs Hickory

[Hogan]

I'm running out of Traeger Hickory pellets, so bought a bag of Lumberjack Char Hickory. The universal condemnation of Traeger-brand pellets (and my own disappointment with them) has me looking to other brands, e.g. Lumberjack. Has anyone had experience with Char Hickory pellets; what is the difference in smoke fragrance from Hickory?

 

[Slimpicker]

I buy hickory 50% of what ever I buy... I'm addicted to hickory but I've never tried an "char" anything...
I'm still waiting for my OKJoes to make it down the hopper and start being used. I stopped using anything Traeger years ago.

 

[RayClem]

IMHO LumberJack pellets are excellent. While I have tried a number of pellet types from LJ, they have all been 100% pure wood. That is one reason I like LumberJack.

I have not tried their Char Hickory. The blend is supposed to contain hickory, oak and charcoal. The flavor profile is going to depend upon the exact mix, which is not specifically noted on the LumberJack web site.

I did try the PitBoss Charcoal Blend pellets and did not like the flavor of the meat. I used them for smoking a beef roast. The meat was bitter and I could not eat it. Rather than discarding the meat, I chopped up the roast and used it to produce a beef stew. I could still taste the bitterness in the stew, but it was tolerable.

Every now and then, I toss a hand full of the charcoal blend pellets into the hopper along with other pellets.

Whether or not the charcoal blend pellets work well for you will depend upon the temperature of the cook and the length of the cook. I would check them out on something like hamburgers first to see if you like the flavor. If you use it on a lengthy cook like brisket, the flavor might be overpowering.

 

[BobbyQ]

I would like to try LJ pellets and will probably have to order as there isn't any local source as yet. Thus far, I've used Treager, Pit Boss and Bear Mountain (my go to these days) and in all honesy, I can't tell any difference in varieties (Oak, Hickory, Cherry or combiations) with the possible exception of Mesquite. The smoke all smells the same and the meat all tastes the same.

 

[Hogan]

BobbyQ: Thanks. My research on that font of all knowledge (the WWW) indicates that LumberJack and Bear Mountain are the same. Up here in the Great White North. LumberJack is available in most retailers, while Bear Mountain, it would appear, has limited distribution, encouraging mail order. I've yet to try Pit Boss, but as I replace all my Traeger pellets, I'll be giving them a shot.
I read somewhere on this Forum a while ago that one of the greybeards was making a strong case that "all varieties of pellets give the same result; there is no difference in the taste imparted." Or words to that effect.
I tried the Char Hickory on a salmon I hot smoked the other day, it turned out well with a somewhat stronger some taste than with previous other pellets. (It's a 1 1/2 hr smoke at 225, so it was a good test.)

 

[RayClem]

I am glad you liked the flavor of the salmon cooked with the Char Hickory pellets. Since you detected a stronger flavor on a 1 1/2 hour cook, you might find the taste to be too strong on a long cook, such as a pork butt or brisket that can take many hours of smoking. That is why I recommended starting with a shorter cook.